Hoi An

Skip the next two paragraphs to avoid the football!

So we left off as we were getting on the bus at 1PM from Hué. Vietnam U23s due to kick off at 3PM! Fortunately some locals were streaming the football on the bus! Uzbekistan (the clear favourites) scored early on the snow covered pitch... The mood was low, Vietnam had only a third of the possession. But they got a free kick on the edge of the box and swerved it into the goal with Beckham like prowess! 1-1, game on!

- Football on the bus.

Unfortunately our TV screens (fellow passengers) had got off the bus early... But when we arrived in Hoi An at half four the second half was only starting. Turns out they had decided to clear the snow, which took long enough to help us complete our journey! The second half finished without consequence, Vietnam had been here before, winning both the quarters and semis on penalties... Extra time beckoned and wore on and on... 117 minutes, just keep going, 118 minutes, nearly over, 119 minutes, so close! And Uzbekistan score... Deflated, but hard fought... The party started at 3, so why stop now!

Anyway! We are staying in a homestay (BnB) with a lovely family and Hoi An has been great. We went to the beach on our first day as it was due to be dry (it certainly wasn't this morning). And we won't see another beach until our last week or so when we're in South Thailand. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday, reading and just slowing down!

- An Bang beach.

Today we went to the old town in Hoi An, you get a ticket for 5 attractions of your choice. These range from museums to old houses and we had a good sampling of this old port town.

- Hoi An old town, no cars so slightly less chaotic!

First we went to Tan Ky house, where we ended up being forced to listen to a big groups tour guide (oh no!), which was quite informative! The whole town floods almost annually and it was particularly bad this year in November. It was above head height on the ground floor!

- Flood high points by year. (Sophie as scale)

Then we went to a couple of the assembly halls, which have very impressive architecture and almost act as temples as well. They had huge pink conical helixes, which were actually burning incense.

- Incense spirals.

We then went to another old house which was a meeting place for the early Hoi An Communists back in the day, which was quite interesting.

Finally we went to a museum of culture, which was more like an archeological museum. Actually had some interesting bits and pieces.

- Water feature at an assembly hall.

We didn't visit any of the tailors that Hoi An is so famous for, but we just didn't feel like carrying a tailor made suit/dress in our backpacks for the next month!

Finally, tonight we have found a funky bar owned by a Canadian couple and have enjoyed some American/Asian fusion food which has been some of the best we've had!

- Mosaic dragons at an assembly hall.